Grand Canyon '11

This year my trip with my Mom and Sister was to the Grand Canyon. I have been to the canyon a few times, though not since my teen years when we rode to the bottom on mules. This trip started with a day-long drive from San Diego to Williams AZ. The next day we boarded a Grand Canyon Railways train for a ride to the Grand Canyon. For some reason I got the idea that this train ride would be incredibly scenic. Unfortunately it turned out to be pretty bland. It was an OK trip due to the onboard entertainment and relaxing nature of it. Probably not something I would do a second time though.

We arrived at the canyon around noon and began to explore. We had 2 days so we managed to cover most of the vista points on the Rim Trail. I had initially planned to spend most of one day hiking as far as I could on the Bright Angel Trail. Unfortunately, when the time came, I didn't feel quite up to it and since it is a pretty demanding hike I decided not to do it. I was a bit disappointed in myself but, hey, what are you going to do. In end it worked out better for getting more photos as I had more time to see the canyon from more different vista points.

The return trip on the train proved to be slightly more scenic due to the fact that we were descending which made the views more panoramic. On our arrival in Williams we broke up our return to San Diego by driving to Laughlin NV for the night. We got up early the next day, watched the sunrise over the hills, walked by the river, had breakfast and finished the drive to San Diego.

It was pretty hazy the whole time we were at the canyon which proved to be challenging photographically. Even with that, it was impossible not to be awed by the beauty and sheer magnitude of the canyon. I hope the photos here convey even a small fraction of that beauty and magnitude.
Enjoy,
bc